Chinese Pineapple Chicken

Well, first things first, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  I hope ya'll had a good time and made sure to eat your collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread.  I made, probably the best batch of my collard green soup ever, while visiting my friend, Greg, in North Carolina, where they still have Harris Teeter or as my grandmother used to call it "Teeters".

 

Meanwhile back at home, I've not been to the grocery store since before Christmas and I wanted to cook tonight, so I rummaged thru my recipes and pantry and came up with Chinese Pineapple Chicken.  I've been wanting to make this for awhile because I love Chinese food, but the only Chinese restaurant I'll eat at here in Montgomery is Ming's Garden, but they don't deliver and it's kinda far away.  So if I could make some good-ass Chinese food at home - all problems solved.  Plus I know exactly what goes into it!

Let's get started, shall we?  Ok, so I was kind of a nerd and prepped all my ingredients this time using the new prep cups my aunt gave me for Christmas.  I was waiting on the brown rice to cook, so I figured why not?  No one in their right mind would normally do this.

 First, cut four chicken breasts into medium-sized chunks/

[ASIDE: Now this is where I would like to say, thoroughly read your recipe when you decide to make it because I didn't read it this morning and was quite surprised to find out it required 2 hours of marinating.  To the average person, this would pose a problem, but to those of us lucky enough to have a FoodSaver®  we don't need no stinkin' 2 hours.]

Anyway, the point is:  Mix your soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and eggs together, pour into a large bowl and add your chicken chunks . Cover and let marinate in fridge for 2 hours or an hour if you've got the marinating container for your FoodSaver®.

After the chicken's marinated, add flour and cornstarch to the chicken to create a thick batter.

[NOTE: If you've got a container with a lid, I would transfer the chicken and marinade into that before adding the flour and cornstarch since shaking the mixture is a great way to evenly distribute the batter over the chicken.]  

See?

Next, heat oil in large frying pan or wok on medium high heat. Add chicken and fry until browned, turning when necessary. Be patient frying the chicken chunks, frying them too quickly will make them ugly and have dark brown burned spots on them. 

Also, monitor your oil temperature, adding oil if necessary and adjusting the heat if the chicken seems to be cooking too fast or slow.  Frying can be tricky, so take your time.

I did my frying in 6 small batches since I didn't have enough oil to use my huge Calphalon pan.  [Remember the whole "haven't been to the grocery store in a month" thing.]  Once each batch is done, transfer it to either a paper towel-lined cookie sheet or a cooling rack on top of a paper towel-lined cookie sheet.  A slotted metal spoon or tongs are perfect for removing the chicken from the oil.

While your chicken is cooking, move onto the yummy pineapple sauce. 

In a medium saucepan, combine pineapple chunks and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil then add your brown sugar and soy sauce, and let simmer for 7 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water into a paste.

Stir the paste into the boiling sauce, turn heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally until thick enough to coat a spoon.

Finally, pour chicken pieces and sauce into a large bowl and mix until thoroughly coated.

I chose to serve mine over a bed of brown rice because it's yummy and good for me!  Now, unfortunately, I am kind of congested today and haven't really tasted anything all day, BUT what I could taste was awesome!  And I'm totally eating leftovers all week long! :)

Enjoy!!

___________________________________________________________

Chinese Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken and Marinade:

4 chicken breasts

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp pepper

6 Tbsp flour

6 Tbsp cornstarch

corn or canola oil for frying

Sauce:

2 cups pineapple chunks

2 cups pineapple juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp soy sauce

Instructions: 

Cut four chicken breasts into medium-sized chunks.

Mix your soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and eggs together, pour into a large bowl and add your chicken chunks . Cover and let marinate in fridge for 2 hours or an hour if you've got the marinating container for your FoodSaver®.

Add flour and cornstarch to chicken to create a thick batter. 

Heat oil in large frying pan on medium high heat. 

Add chicken in small batches and fry until it is browned, turning when necessary. 

Once each batch is done, transfer it to either straight onto a paper towel-lined cookie sheet or a cooling rack on top of a paper towel-lined cookie sheet.  *TIP: A slotted metal spoon or tongs are perfect for removing the chicken from the oil.

In a medium saucepan, combine the pineapple and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil, add brown sugar and soy sauce, and simmer for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water into a paste.

Stir the paste into the boiling sauce, turn heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally until thick enough to coat a spoon. 

Pour chicken pieces and sauce into a large bowl and mix until thoroughly coated.

Serve on a bed of white or brown rice.

Chicken Mushroom (and Spinach) Lasagna

I've been meaning to make this for awhile and I finally got around to it this weekend.

The recipe doesn't call for spinach, but I had some left over from a previous recipe and I didn't want it to go to waste, so I snapped the little stems off and added it to the mushrooms.

This recipe is one of the best things I've cooked in awhile, by FAR! I HIGHLY recommend this one!

INGREDIENTS:
1 10 oz. package of baby 'bellos or white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 a bag of baby spinach (pinch off the stems)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/4 cups of roasted chicken*
2 1/2 cups of skim milk**
1 cup of half & half
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
9 no-boil egg lasagna noodles***
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère

*Regarding the roasted chicken, you could easily pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and use that - or you can do what I did and make your own 'quick' roasted chicken at home. (see recipe below)

**The original recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of whole milk. I don't drink whole milk and so all I had was skim milk and some left over half & half for another precious recipe. So I split it up. Just use whatever milk you happen to have on hand. Yes, it may effect the richness of your sauce, but that really isn't a huge problem with this recipe. (The wine gives it such a good kick that you won't notice.)

***I didn't use the "no-boil" noodles because I already had a new package of whole wheat lasagna noodles. Also I recently bought a Pasta Boat and it makes cooking pasta SO easy. And I cooked the noodles slightly less than al dente, since they're going in the oven anyway.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Roasted Chicken Breasts

Preheat oven to 400° with rack in middle.
Brush the chicken with EVOO on both sides Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.



Chicken Mushroom (and Spinach) Lasagna

Preheat oven to 425° with rack in middle.

Cook mushrooms, spinach, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in olive oil and add 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes.



Add wine and simmer briskly 2 minutes.


Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl and stir in chicken.


Bring milk to barely a simmer in a medium saucepan.

In a different pan, Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter medium-low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes.


Add hot milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Add thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve 1 cup sauce. Stir Parmesan into sauce remaining in pan, then stir into mushroom filling.


Pour half of reserved plain sauce into baking pan, spreading evenly to coat bottom.


Add 3 lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly, and one third of mushroom filling, spreading evenly, then sprinkle one fourth of Gruyère over top. Repeat 2 times.



Top with remaining 3 lasagna noodles and remaining plain sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyère.


Cover with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top of lasagna but sealing all around edge, and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes more.

Fresh out of the oven!

Let lasagna stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

Again, I can't stress just HOW good this non-traditional lasagna is! Don't be put off by the roux - it only takes a few minutes.

Enjoy!

___________________________________________________

Chicken Mushroom (and Spinach) Lasagna

INGREDIENTS:
1 10 oz. package of baby 'bellos or white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 a bag of baby spinach (pinch off the stems) *optional
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/4 cups of roasted chicken
2 1/2 cups of skim milk
1 cup of half & half
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
9 no-boil egg lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère

Preheat oven to 425° with rack in middle.

Cook mushrooms, spinach, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in olive oil and add 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add wine and simmer briskly 2 minutes.

Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl and stir in chicken.

Bring milk to barely a simmer in a medium saucepan.

In a different pan, Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter medium-low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes.

Add hot milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Add thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve 1 cup sauce. Stir Parmesan into sauce remaining in pan, then stir into mushroom filling.

Pour half of reserved plain sauce into baking pan, spreading evenly to coat bottom.

Add 3 lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly, and one third of mushroom filling, spreading evenly, then sprinkle one fourth of Gruyère over top. Repeat 2 times.

Top with remaining 3 lasagna noodles and remaining plain sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyère.

Cover with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top of lasagna but sealing all around edge, and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes more.

Let lasagna stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken and Dressing

Yeah yeah yeah - I know I'm not exactly on-the-ball with the whole posting thing, but shush because here comes a good'un!

There's a country cookin' restaurant here in town and every once in awhile they have chicken and dressing. I attempted to make it once using my homemade dressing recipe and while it came out very tasty, it wasn't what I was looking for. So i scoured the internet for a few suggestions and Viola! Sarah's Chicken and Dressing was born.

I wasn't under the impression that this was a "southern thing", but apparently it is. I don't care if your southern or not - try this any time of the year because it is yummers!

First things first - we need a whole cooked chicken. Now, feel free to use a rotisserie chicken for this, but the ones at my local store are greasy and yucky, so i opted to boil a whole fryer. I believe it was approx. 4 lbs. Plus this way, I get to use my grandmother's cast iron pot! (If you decide to use a rotisserie chicken, you'll need to pick up a couple cans of chicken broth.)


Place the chicken into the pot along with a coarsely chopped onion, 3 celery stalks and some carrots. You can use 2 or 3 regular-sized carrots instead, but I had the baby carrots on hand. (The chicken ought to come with a bag of goodies including the neck, liver, etc... I placed them around the chicken with the vegetables so they'll add to the flavor.) Also add a tablespoon of white pepper.

Now cover the whole thing with water, cover your pot and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down to a gentle boil and cook for 90 minutes. If it starts to boil over or isn't boiling enough, make sure to adjust the heat accordingly.

Once the chicken is done, it should look a little something like this:


Use a baster to remove 4 cups of the broth because we will be using it for the dressing. As for the veggies and chicken parts, do with them as you please. Personally, I gave the cats some of the liver and stuff and the rest went into the garbage (I hate cooked carrots!).

While the chicken is cooking, use this time to make your cornbread. I picked up 2 packages of Martha White Buttermilk Cornbread Mix. Its easy and good, but if you prefer to make your cornbread from scratch - knock yourself out! Follow the directions on the package of cornbread and then add chopped onion and celery.



Mix all this up good and then transfer to a pan. I'm using my great- grandmother's cast iron pan, but if you don't have any cast iron, a normal pan will do fine. (PS: if you are in the market for cast iron, I wouldn't buy it new. Try and find pieces at a flea market or thrift shop. The older, the better because it's seasoned and worn in.)

Bake the cornbread according to the directions on the package and then let cool briefly. Once the cornbread is done, remove it from the pan and put into a large bowl. Don't worry if it breaks and crumbles or whatever because we're going to be smushing it all up in a second anyway.

After putting the cornbread into the bowl, add 3 slices of torn-up white bread and the 4 cups of chicken broth from the chicken. Mush the whole mixture up with a fork or potato masher.


To this mixture, you'll add the chicken, which I've already deboned and pulled apart by hand.


Now mix in 3 eggs, sage, poultry seasoning and salt & pepper, ending up with this lovely concoction:


Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray. Transfer the dressing and chicken into the dish and pop that bad boy into the oven for 50 minutes.


The finished product will look pretty much exactly like this when you remove it from the oven. The top doesn't really brown so much as "harden" to more of a light crust. It gives a little resistance when biting into it and its lovely!

Serve with cranberry sauce and you're good to go! Enjoy!

_______________________________________________________

Chicken and Dressing

1 boiled chicken (save the broth)
1 tbsp white pepper (for the chicken)
2 packages of cornbread mix
5 eggs (2 for cornbread and 3 for dressing)
3 slices of white bread
3 unpeeled carrots (for the chicken)
2 onions (1 whole and 1 chopped)
6 stalks of celery (2 whole and 4 chopped)
3 tbsp sage
2 tbsp Poultry seasoning*
Salt and pepper to taste

*before BUYING poultry seasoning, check to see if you have all the makings for it instead and
make your own by combining equal amounts of the following dried herbs: rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, marjoram, thyme.

Boiled chicken:
Place chicken in a large pot with onion, carrots, celery and white pepper; add water to cover.

Cover pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook for about 90 minutes, or until chicken meat is falling off of the bone.

Remove chicken, let cool and shred or chop the meat.

Dressing:
Prepare cornbread according to package instructions.

To uncooked cornbread, add chopped onion and chopped celery.

Cook according to cornbread mix instructions.

In large mixing bowl, add cornbread, white bread, and 4 cups of chicken broth. Mix with a potato masher.

Add deboned chicken to the mixture and stir.

Add 3 eggs, sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Pour mixture in a large casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Cook at 350ºF for approximately 50 minutes.

Oven-Fried Chimichangas

Today's recipe is a tried and true favorite of mine. It's so simple and versatile that a lot of times I don't even have to go to the store for anything.

I found this recipe on fromthegalley.blogspot.com awhile ago and I've made several changes, but that's the great thing about the recipe. It allows for creativity. :)

First things first: cook the chicken. Now you can cook the chicken breasts any way you see fit, but I thawed them in the microwave and cooked them in a pan with some fajita seasoning to make them more "mexican". If you want to just continue cooking them in the microwave, go right ahead or boil it. Just cook it somehow! lol


It should look something along the lines of this, when its done:


After the chicken is done, set it aside to cool long enough to be able to handle. To shred the chicken, I'll put one breast at a time in a medium sized bowl and pull it apart with two forks. Again, this is a thankless process but looks SO much better than chopped chicken.

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 of the salsa, cumin, oregano, chicken, green chilies, and 1 cup of the cheese. (This is when you can add ANYTHING you like to the mix. I've used black beans before, onions, roasted red peppers, etc...)


I ended up making 5 chimichangas out of this batch, but it depends on how much filling you put in each one. Just use your judgment on filling the tortillas.


This next part can be a little tricky/frustrating, but just do the best you can when folding them up. I fold the ends in first and then roll them up.

They should look something like this:


Go ahead and dump the rest of the salsa all over the chimichangas and top off with the rest of the cheese.


Pop the little dudes into the oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

.....DING!

YAY! They're done!! :) Yummers!

I normally serve them with reduced-fat sour cream because I love sour cream!

Well, that's about it. I told you this recipe was super easy! Enjoy!!

______________________________________________________
Oven Fried Chimichangas

Ingredients:
1 24oz. jar of salsa, divided
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried crushed oregano
1 small can of diced green chilies
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 cups shredded cheese
5 burrito size tortillas

Condiments of choice (sour cream, extra salsa, green onions, red peppers)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°

Mix together 1/2 of the salsa, cumin, oregano, chicken, diced green chilies and 1 cup of the cheese.

Place a medium amount of the mixture in the center of each tortilla.

Fold opposite sides of the tortilla over filling and then roll from the bottom up and place seam-side down on a lightly greased baking dish.

Pour the remaining salsa over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes (cheese should be melted).

Serve with condiments of your choice.

Chicken Lasagna Rolls

I've been meaning to make this recipe all week and I finally got around to it today! YAY! Aren't we all excited? Yes, we are!

Okie dokie, so I've had this recipe for probably several years, but have never made it. In fact, I'd never really even looked at it that closely until this week. Well, I discovered it lacked greatly in pretty much every conceivable way... so I fixed it up!

This week it's another Sarah Original!!
(Sorry for the lack of pictures, they just weren't up to my standards this time.)

Ok, first we need to cook the chicken. To be honest, I don't know exactly how long I cook chicken when I boil it. I took 3 thawed chicken breasts, put them in a large pot with enough water to cover them and put them on the stove to boil. I probably boil them for about 7 - 8 minutes before pulling one out, cutting it in half to see how done it is (usually still raw in the center) and then putting it back in the pot for another 8 or so minutes. I know its not very cool to say that I cook them until I "feel" they should be done... but its what I do. Sorry!

After the chicken is done, set it aside to cool long enough to be able to handle. To shred the chicken, I'll put one breast at a time in a medium sized bowl and pull it apart with two forks. This is a thankless process but looks SO much better than chopped chicken.

Onto the noodles! Cooking them is simple; just follow the directions on the box! Try to cook them in a dutch oven or wide, shallow pot so that the noodles can stay flat.

While the noodles are cooking, mix the following together: egg, chicken, ricotta, 3/4 cup of mozzarella, 2 Tbsps of Parmesan, thyme, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.


Go ahead and prep your baking dish too. Take 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce and cover the bottom of the dish. And preheat the oven to 375°F.

After the noodles are done cooking, I used a pair of tongs to gently pull them out one by one and laid them out on a large plate.

Next, I put out a sheet of parchment paper to make the rolls on so the noodles wouldn't stick to the counter. Then I laid out one noodle and spread a good layer of the chicken/cheese mixture onto it.


After you've got all the rolls made and in the dish, evenly spread the remaining sauce over the lasagna rolls and sprinkle half of the remaining mozzarella on top of sauce.

Cover the dish with foil (I tented the foil so my cheese wouldn't all come off when I removed it later) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven.

Time to take the foil off! Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and a bit of freshly cracked black pepper on top and bake uncovered for another 8 -12 minutes or until golden brown.

Be careful not to cook too long uncovered or the exposed parts of the noodles will become hard and crunchy.
Here's the final product! Serve with a romaine salad or asparagus, if in season. (I'm so angry I can't find good asparagus in the winter!!) Enjoy!


________________________________________
Chicken Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 cups spaghetti sauce
8 - 10 lasagna noodles
1 egg
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
5 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon minced thyme
1 tablespoon minced basil
1 tablespoon minced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
Salt and pepper


Instructions:
Cook chicken. Let cool and then shred using two forks to pull the meat apart. Set aside.

Cook noodles in boiling salted water until al dente - do not over cook as they will be going into the oven and cooking again for the final dish.

Mix ricotta, ¾ cup of mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, egg, chicken, spices, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in small bowl.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Evenly spread 1/3 of sauce on bottom of the baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of ricotta mixture over each lasagna noodle. Carefully roll up, placing seam side down in baking dish, on top of sauce.

Evenly spread remaining sauce over lasagna rolls.

Sprinkle the half of the remaining mozzarella top of sauce. Cover in foil and bake for 40 minutes or until it bubbles. Remove from oven.

Top with remaining mozzarella and a bit of freshly cracked black pepper and bake uncovered 5 - 10 minutes or until browned.

Spicy Sweet Chicken

I made this earlier in the week, last week - but never got around to posting it. Sorry!

12 ounces to 1 pound of skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon chili paste
1 green onion, chopped [optional]

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and five-spice powder. Toss to coat.

Heat oil in large skillet over high heat.
Add chicken; cook until browned, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or 4 minutes.

Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds, stirring to keep from burning.
Add next 3 ingredients to skillet.


Boil until reduced slightly and chicken is cooked through, stirring frequently, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Serve over rice; sprinkle with green onion if you like.

This is the first time i've ever cooked with Chinese Five Spice and i have to admit - i'm not a fan. I think i would like it better if it were Chinese Four Spice and they forgot to add the cinnamon. Cinnamon is just not something i'm a fan of in anything but desserts...

This was a good meal though. Extremely simple and tastey - not to mention good for you!